


Bonding Time

by SuccubustyKisses



Series: And They Were Roommates. [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, M/M, Scenes of sickness and vomiting, a borderline nsfw shallura scene, estela is a curious troublemaker child, keith is TRYING, lance is sick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-11-12 15:39:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18013619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuccubustyKisses/pseuds/SuccubustyKisses
Summary: With an exasperated huff Keith covers Lance up to his chin and retrieves the bucket, dropping it by the bed. He moves out into the hall pulling the door shut behind him and going back to grab his groceries. He’d make Lance some soup, leave it with some medicine and a couple bottles of water by his bed, then take a quick nap before leaving for work.After finishing the soup and dishing it into a Tupperware bowl he realizes the flaw in his plans. That flaw being at least 35 pounds of pure excitement barreling into the apartment and latching to his leg with loud exclamations of what she’d done today.He forgot about Estela.





	Bonding Time

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for your patience in my hiatus of this piece! I hope you enjoy part 3

It was hot, dizzyingly so. Lance groans leaning his head against the cool metal of the door as his free hand fumbles with the key, his other holding a death grip on the bucket of fish flailing about in the tiny space they have. His vision blurs and he groans again, violently shaking his head. A klink brings him back into focus as he looks down at the floor where the key now lay between his feet mocking him, the penguin shaped keychain staring up at him with its taunting cartoonish smile. Cursing he sets the bucket down, ignoring the roll of nausea in his stomach as he leans over, reaching out for the key. 

His vision clouds, spotting over with dancing black fuzz as he fumbles his fingers only succeeding in moving the key further from his grip. Inhaling through his mouth he’s assaulted by the taste of raw fish and dirty penguin habitat, coming from the crack under the door. Heaving he turns smacking the back of his head hard on the metal, sending a hollow ringing through his throbbing skull. He swallows down the bile and looks up at the bright florescent lights above him. 

“You got this Lance. You just gotta go in there and feed the penguins then clean the habitat, no big deal. You do it all the time. You can do it in your sleep. You just have to get the key and do your job.” The black spots in his vision refuse to go away. Sighing he turns again, using his hand on the door to stabilize himself as he quickly leans down snatching the key and whipping back up. 

The world swims, his vision swirling. His last thought as he feels gravity claiming him and hears the loud clang of his body landing on a bucket full of fish was that he probably should have just stayed home today.

* * *

Keith groans, hand reaching out from under his pillow to flail around blindly for his phone in hopes of silencing the loud music interrupting his peaceful sleep. Finally wrapping his fingers around the offending, vibrating monstrosity he yanks it to his face peeking one eye open to glare at the screen. **Unknown number**. Sighing loudly he swipes the screen and holds the phone to his ear, not even bothering to contain his yawn.

“Um… Hello? Is this Keith?” 

“Depends who’s asking.” He growls out, willing the call to end so he could get a few more hours of sleep before he goes into work. 

There was a sigh from the woman on the other end. “My name is Plaxum, I work with Lance at the aquarium. I’m trying to reach his roommate Keith because he hasn’t updated his emergency contacts from that bitch Rosa but everyone in his phone has stupid nicknames.”

“Oh yeah?” Keith rubs a hand over his eye. “What’s my name?” 

“Umm.. it says Hothead… And has an emoji of a burrito next to it?” Plaxum sighs loudly. “Look can you please just help me I need to get ahold of Keith-“

“Oh right, sorry.” Keith yawns again. “I’m Keith, but why are you calling me, and why do you have Lance’s phone? Did he leave it somewhere or-“

“He’s sick.” Plaxum sounds annoyed. “He has a very high fever and still tried to come work. They found him passed out on the ground outside the penguin habitat with fish from a tipped over bucket and water all over him.”

“Is he okay? Do I need to take him to a hospital, is he already at the hospital?” Frowning with worry Keith slides his legs from the comfort of his plush blankets and walks over to his dresser to dig for clothes. 

Plaxum snickers. “He’s asleep on the couch in my office, but I would appreciate if you could come and take him home.”

“Yeah, of course let me just-Plaxum, right? How do I find you when I get there?” Holding the phone between his ear and his shoulder he stuffs his legs into some underwear. 

“Just tell the people at the parking booth who you are and why you’re here. I’ll meet you at the entrance. Now I must be going, with one person short and the delay of dealing with him we are quite behind.” She hangs up before Keith can even reply. 

Sighing loudly Keith jams his legs into a pair of pants yanking them up to his hips. This is not how he expected to spend his morning. He’ll have to let Kolivan know he’s going to be late. No big deal he’ll call him before he gets in the… “Fuck.” he groans smacking his head on the dresser in front of him. 

Keith didn’t have a car. 

Okay, that’s fine. He’ll just take his bike up and drive Lance’s car back. No big deal. Except then he’ll have to leave his bike at the aquarium, and he works tonight. Stomping over to his closet he yanks a shirt out jamming it over his head. 

“Guess I have no choice.” With a sigh he picks up his phone pulling up Shiro’s name and hitting call. 

The phone rings three times before shiro answers, panting like he's been running. “Hello, Keith? What’s um.. what’s up bud?”

“Please tell me you didn’t answer the phone mid sex.” 

“Mmmkay I won’t tell you anything then.” A breathy chuckle at Keith’s grossed out groan. “What’s up you never call, is something wrong?” 

“Other than your sense of boundaries, yes. I need a ride asap.” Putting the phone on speaker he digs out some socks and awkwardly leans against the wall to yank them on his feet.

“O-hooo-oh? What’s up? Your bike not wo-oh shit- _ahem_ not working?” 

“You two are disgusting. Lance passed out at work, I need a ride to go get him so could you stop canoodling for ten minutes to help me?” Snatching his phone from the dresser he stomps out into the living room. 

Shiro chuckles. “Sure thing give me fi-“ a loud feminine moan “fuck make that ten minutes.”

“I hate you so much right now.”

“Love ya Keith, bye!”

* * *

His head hurts. The horrible heartbeat throbbing making him feel like the whole room was pulsing like some horrible night club. He doesn’t try to move, he knew better after the last time he tried to sit up, thankful to Plaxum for leaving a bucket on the table beside the couch he's sprawled out on. He was surprised when she didn’t scold him for coming into work sick. Thankful for her silent judgmental stares as she simply shook her head and left the office. 

“He’s right in here, are you sure you won’t need any help? He really is in no shape to be moving around.” Plaxum whispers as she comes back into the room draws Lance’s eyes open, he turns his head slowly to smile at her and freezes. 

Keith stands in the doorway wearing a pair of ripped jeans and a tight fitting tank top and honestly, Lance couldn’t tell if the sudden rolling in his stomach was from knowing Keith cares enough to come get him or nausea from being sick. 

Nope, definitely nausea. 

He jerks to the side snatching the bucket as he heaves up what little content still remain in his stomach. Plaxum sighs and Keith steps over, running a cool hand through his hair before resting it on the back of his neck. 

“Hey, idiot.” His words are harsh but his whisper is low, affectionate. “I’ve come to carry your dumbass home.”

“I’d rather stay here on this couch than go anywhere with you and your death machine.” Lance grumbles from inside the bucket, the hollow echo making his head throb. 

Keith chuckles, his hand moving up to run soft fingers along Lance’s hairline. “Lucky for you Shiro dropped me off. We’ll be taking your car. Can you stand?” Lance thinks about standing and shakes his head, stomach rolling with the movement. “Mmmkay. Plaxum, can I take the bucket?” 

“Lance can clean it and bring it back when he is feeling better, and not a moment sooner. Do you understand?” 

Lance groans and Keith chuckles again before crouching down to his level, wrapping an arm around his neck. “Hold on to that bucket, babe. The world is about to spin.” Before Lance can comment an arm is looped under his legs lifting him easily into the air. Lance’s stomach rolls and he wretches into the bucket, only a small amount of foam and bile coming out. Once the rolling in his gut stops Lance presses his face into Keith’s cool neck, practically melting into the cold comfort. 

Moving carefully through the halls and out into the parking lot Keith gives his thanks to Plaxum before heading across to the old beetle Lance calls his first child. “Um.. Lance? You alive?” A grumble. “I need the keys.” 

Cursing Lance shifts, resting the bucket under Keith’s chin, much to his disgust. Trying to move as little as possible he reaches into his pocket pulling out the key with the blue clay blob Estela said was a lion attached to it. He dangles them in the air, almost dropping them before they connect with the palm of Keith’s hand beside his knees. Shaking his head Keith kneels down awkwardly fumbling the key into the lock and turning, yanking the door open so hard he stumbles back nearly spilling the disgusting bucket all over himself. 

“Okay Lance. Put the bucket on the roof of the car.” Groaning Lance shakes his head no, face still buried in the crook of Keith’s neck. Sighing loudly Keith shifts closer to the car. “Lance please put the bucket on the roof of the car or you’re going to have vomit _inside_ your car.” 

Making a loud groan Lance leans away slowly, teetering the bucket onto the rounded top of his car. Satisfied, Keith shifts slowly pushing Lance into the passenger seat, prying his fingers from around his neck and buckling him in. “Seat back.” 

“What?” 

“Too up, put seat back.” Keith snorts shifting Lance’s seat so he can lay back. Smiling in thanks, Lance curls up as best he can while buckled in. A soft chuckle is all he hears before he’s drifting back into Oblivion.

* * *

Keith sighs as he parks Lance’s bug in the spot next to his bike. He’s been trying for weeks now to get Lance in his arms, it figures he only succeeds because Lance is so sick he can’t protest. Smacking his head on the steering wheel one last time he steels his nerves before he climbs out, looping the keys on his finger for easy access. Moving around to the passenger side he opens the door, grabbing the bag of groceries he stopped for before reaching over to unbuckle Lance. “Lance, you awake?”

Grumbling Lance turns curling up on his side. Shaking his head with an affectionate chuckle Keith grabs Lance, pulling him as carefully as he can out of the car. Shifting his grip he places Lance’s head on his shoulder before digging blindly for the bucket he thankfully dumped out before placing in the car beside Lance’s feet. 

It takes way too much effort, and more attempts than he’d care to count to get into the building and by the time he makes it up to their apartment Keith is seriously contemplating spending more time at the gym with Shiro. Finally he makes it to the door and twists the key in the lock stumbling through the opening and almost crushing Lance into the opposing wall. 

After kicking the door shut he drops the grocery bag on the floor along with the keys and bucket and, with Lance in hand, heads through the halls into Lance’s room. He trips on a doll in the middle of the floor, cursing under his breath as he rights himself and stomps over to Lance’s bed settling him into the mattress. “There, now I just-” His hands slide up Lance’s softly, moving to unlatch the grip from around his neck. 

The grip only tightens, dragging Keith down to smell the horrible scent of vomit on Lance’s breath. Sighing loudly and rolling his eyes Keith squirms, yanking his head out of Lance’s grip and quickly replacing it with a pillow. Giving a content sigh Lance curls up around the pillow and rolls to his side. 

With an exasperated huff Keith covers Lance up to his chin and retrieves the bucket, dropping it by the bed. He moves out into the hall pulling the door shut behind him and going back to grab his groceries. He’d make Lance some soup, leave it with some medicine and a couple bottles of water by his bed, then take a quick nap before leaving for work. 

After finishing the soup and dishing it into a Tupperware bowl he realizes the flaw in his plans. That flaw being at least 35 pounds of pure excitement barreling into the apartment and latching to his leg with loud exclamations of what she’d done today. 

_He forgot about Estela._

“Keef!! Pidge took me to the park and I played in the playground, and we played pokemon and I got a shiny a---ahhh-aaron?” Estela beams up at him, clearly proud of herself. Wide eyed Keith looks across the counter at Pidge as she sets the bag of Estela’s stuff on the coffee table.

“Hey, thanks for taking her early today Keith I really can’t miss this opportunity. If I get this job I- _why do you look terrified?_ ” Keith can feel the look of terror on his face as he stands stock-still watching Pidge. “Please tell me you didn’t forget and make other pla-“

“Keiiiith.” 

Estela’s eyes widen in bright childish excitement. “ _DADDY’S HOME??!!_ ” She turns, bolting for Lance’s bedroom door. Keith throws down the bowl of soup and rushes after her snatching her up right before she can enter the room. “Keef let go I wanna go see Daddy!!”

“Estela wait, just let me... Please stop squirming... Fuck don’t kick you’re gonna- _SONOVA BITCH!_ ” He drops her, grabbing the door and slamming it shut before she can get through, blocking the door with his body he looks down at the reddened bite now decorating his arm right next to the werewolf. “You bit me!” 

Estela humphs stomping her foot and glaring angrily up at him. “You’re mean Keef! Let me see my Daddy!!”

“Look you little-“

“That’s enough.” Pidge shoots a glare down the hallway causing both of them to freeze up. “Keith you need to watch your mouth and Estela you do not bite people! We’ve been over this, they’re dirty!”

“But-“

“No buts young miss!” Pidge points a finger with a glare. “I’m sure Keith has a good reason for keeping you away from your Dad.”

“He’s sick! I don’t- couldn’t she catch it?” He frowns over Estela’s head at Pidge.

“That little quiznak, I knew he was sick.” Pidge sighs loudly. “You can still take care of Estela, right?”

“Yeah, I guess I- um… Hey Estela?” She glares up at him, arms crossed over her chest. “You wanna come to work with me?”

Estela’s blue eyes instantly light up and she squeals, clinging to his leg again. “Play date with Keef!!”

“You’re going to take a 3 year old to a tattoo parlor?” Pidge scoffs. “Good luck. Don’t get her hurt, Lance _will_ kill you. I gotta go. Come give me a hug goodbye little slug.” 

Estela rushes down the hall and dives into Pidge’s arms licking a trail up the side of her face. They both laugh before she’s set back on her feet and Pidge leaves with a quick wave over her shoulder. “Good luck again, Keith. You’re gonna need it.”

* * *

Keith sighs loudly, brushing the hair out of his eyes as he leaves Lance’s room, carefully shutting the door behind him. He digs in his pocket and pulls out the small notebook and pen checking at the list he’d written in it. 

Turn off coffee pot. _Check._  
Put plenty of food and drink within Lance’s reach. _Check._  
Clean the vomit bucket. _Gross check._  
Give Lance medicine. _Check._  
Pack bag of toys and books for Estela. _Check._

Nodding to himself he shoves the notebook and pen back into his pocket. All he has left to do was get Estela’s shoes on her and they could g- _oh… no wonder it was so quiet._ Keith groans looking down at the girl on the couch curled peacefully around a plush shark, snoring softly. 

“This… Was not in the plan.” Leaning over the couch Keith puts his hand on her shoulder and shakes it softly. “Estela? It's time to go. Wake up, please?”

No reaction. Not even a groan, a whimper, a change in breathing… Nothing! _If she weren’t breathing I’d swear she were dead._

Tapping his finger on his bicep he looks down at her. _Well, at least she’s dressed, even has her shoes on. Guess I just carry her._ Checking that he has his wallet and Lance’s keys he moves back to the couch and hovers his hands over the sleeping girl. 

“Okay. I can’t do princess that’ll be to hard to open, close, and lock doors… Fireman is not appropriate for a child, she’s asleep so piggyback is out… So I guess I just, carry her against my chest.” Shifting his stance he nudges her onto her back and loops his hands under her arms. With a careful lift he scoops her up and flops her against his chest, bumping his shoulder to shift her head closer to his neck so it doesn’t flop uncomfortably. 

Shifting his weight he grabs her bag flinging it over one shoulder and moving to the door. Unlocking the door is easy but locking it on the outside proves to be harder than he expected and he feels her body shifting downward as he struggles. Finally getting the door locked he bumps her weight back up and leaves the building, headed for Lance’s car. 

Pushing her into her seat was also easy, as was clicking the buckle around her, but getting back out of the car was proving to be too hard a task as he smacks the back of his head on the roof of the car. “SONOVA BITCH.”

“Blankie.” Keith freezes, looking down at Estela, she sits in her carseat, eyes closed and head tilted to the side, her hand flails about in the air beside her seat as if searching. Grabbing the blanket on the other seat in the back he covers her legs and watches as she covers both herself and the shark plush completely under the blanket. 

Satisfied he shuts the door and moves to drive Lance’s car for the second time that day.

* * *

“What. Is. _that?_ ” Kolivan frowns, brows knit together as he looks down at Estela. 

Sighing loudly and ignoring his boss' words Keith pulls her along by their joined hands, walking to his station. He kneels down to smile at her, ignoring Kolivan following him into the room he’s works in. “Hey there little bat. You just ignore Kolivan okay? He may seem scary, but he’s a total softy. He’s probably afraid of you.”

Bright eyes sparkle with mischief as Estela peeks around Keith’s shoulder, sticking her tongue out at Kolivan. Chuckling Keith hands her a pile of papers and the markers he keeps around for drawing tattoo ideas. 

“Why don’t you make your dad a get well card?” His offer brings a bright smile to her face and she instantly clambers up onto his stool, shoving important papers to the floor and making him cringe as she clears off the table to make room for her art. His eyes follow the fall of documents and paperwork for customers in the next few weeks before turning to Kolivan who stands behind him with a frown. “Not a word.”

“I haven’t said anything yet.” 

“I know what you're thinking.” Keith shoves past him, moving into the main lobby where customers are waiting. 

Kolivan glances back at the girl, hunched over the desk, tongue sticking out as she presses too hard with expensive markers to doodle what looks like an airplane with fangs. “Oh? Is that thought that I told you to get a boyfriend, not adopt a child and break the no children in the building rule?”

“Please, Kolivan. I've had a long day and Lance is sick. Just give me this.” Keith turns pleading eyes up to Kolivan who sighs and turns to the main counter.

“Just don’t let her get hurt.” 

Keith grins, turning to his first client. “You ready?”

* * *

Two hours. It's only been two hours, only one and a half tattoos completed and Estela is already bored and fidgeting around the room. He should have brought more toys… or her tablet… something else to distract her. 

“Keef! I'm _hungry!_ ” Small lips turn down in a pout, quivering on the verge of tears. He tries to ignore her, getting a sympathetic look from his client as he hunches over her wrist etching a giant bumble bee into her flesh. 

He works in blissful silence for a few moments, filling in the yellow of the bee's behind when his client speaks. “You might not want to do that, sweetheart.”

Keith’s eyes look up to the woman, confusion evident. They then follow her train of sight to his shelf full of different ink. His eyes widen as he sees Estela with one foot on the second shelf, the other dangling precariously in the air as she holds herself up on the fourth shelf with one hand and stretches for the next one with the other. 

“OH SHIT!” Keith scrambles, throwing his tattoo gun, still turned on, behind him and rushing towards the girl. His heart sinks as he hears the crack, cursing the cheap plywood of the shelf as he sees the fourth shelf give, bottles of ink toppling to the floor and spilling everywhere. He watches in horror as she scrambles to hold on but fails, falling backwards towards the ink covered floor. 

Adrenaline and fear boosts his speed and he skids to a stop just in time to catch her head before it smashes onto the floor. Heart beating so fast it hurts in his chest he stares down at the terrified blue eyes of the girl below him. 

“Estela? Are you okay?”

Her eyes start to water, and like watching in slow motion she begins to sob. Terrified and not knowing what to do he scoops her up, holding her close to his chest as he rushes back to the chair he pilfered from the lobby, carefully placing her in it. “Estela? Come on Little Bat talk to me, tell me where it hurts so I can make it better.”

Small wordless screams continue to fill the entire shop, drawing attention towards his closed door. It opens unnoticed due to the obvious distraction, and a man walks in. His honey brown eyes focus on the crying girl and his frantic coworker without an ounce of panic. With a soft smile he walks over, crouching down beside the girl and giving a bright smile up at her.

The loud screams turn into quieter sobs, hiccups of breath fighting to fill her lungs as her nose leaks snot all down her face. She blinks at the new man, taking in his dark hair in it's slicked back style. His smile only grows and he gives her a small wave. 

“Hello there, you must be Estela.” Keith watches in amazement as his coworker talks to her like nothing happened in the first place. “My name is Thace.”

He holds out his hands and Estela's sobs turn into small whimpers, her eyes look from his face, to his hand, over to Keith, then back again. “How do you know my name?” 

Thace chuckles, continuing to hold his hand up. “Because I work here with Keith. All he ever does is talk about you and your dad. Must be one lucky girl to have both your daddy and Keith love you so much.”

“You love me?” Estela’s watery eyes turn back to Keith, her arm rubbing at her face smearing snot everywhere. 

“Of course I do Little Bat. You’re the number one girl in my life.” Keith gives her a soft smile and she beams, lunging forward to wrap her arms tight around his neck. Keith hugs her tight, looking up at Thace to mouth a silent thank you. Thace simply nods before going over to turn off the tattoo gun and return it to the rolling tray full of ink and talking to the patient client sitting in her chair. 

“I’m sorry I broke your shelf Keef.” The words are low, softly whispered into his neck as she burrows in deeper, smearing tears and snot along his skin. 

“The shelf doesn’t matter, Little Bat, only you do.” He clings back, uncaring of the ink staining the floor, the snot getting in his hair, or his client watching with a soft smile on her face. 

Time passes that feels like forever, but really isn’t even five minutes before Estela pulls back, eyes settling on Keith’s shirt and growing wide before she looks down at her dress and the splashes of ink all over it. “OH NO I WUINED OUR CLOTHES!”

“It’s okay. Clothes are replaceable.”

Estela starts to sniffle again, her eyes watering up. “Daddy’s gonna be dis-point-ed with me.”

“Not if we don’t tell him.” Keith shoots her a wink, handing her a handful of tissues. “How about I call Allura and have her bring you a brand new dress, with dinner, and we won’t even tell Daddy about this accident.”

“Really?”

“Yup! It'll be our little secret.” Keith pulls out his phone, flipping it over to FaceTime Allura, thankful when she answers almost immediately.

“Hey Keith, what’s up?” 

“Hi Allura, I have a little visitor at work with me today who wants to ask you a favor.” Before she can even answer he's handing his phone off to Estela and turning towards his client. “I am so sorry about this.”

She laughs, waving an arm in the air. “I’m a mother, trust me you did everything right. Go ahead and clean up that mess I can wait a little while longer.”

“You are a godsend ma'am.” He leaves the room, nearly running into Thace at the door holding extra paper towels and cleaning spray. He thanks him and turns back to the mess at hand, quickly scrubbing up what he can of the mess, unsurprised by the rainbow splatter now decorating his floor.

“I think it adds flare.” The woman supplies with a smile. Keith grins back, turning to set up to finish her tattoo. A few moments pass and the excited talking behind him stops, followed by the squeaking of a chair and a hand tugging at his shirt. 

“Keef, I’m done talking to ‘llura. Can I use your phone to watch videos?” Keith nods, grinning at the girl's whoop of success as she bounces around clutching his phone. He quickly sets her up with funny cat videos which leave her cackling loudly behind him and turns back to his work. 

“Just so you know, this tattoo is on me. Your patience has been a godsend.”  
s  
She laughs softly, holding out her arm so he can continue his work. “Do you believe in god, Mister Keith?”

He shrugs. “I believe in anything, who knows. There could be giant fuzzy purple aliens out there for all we know.”

She laughs again, flinching slightly as the needle returns to her tender flesh. “I think I would enjoy meeting these aliens some day.”

* * *

Everything aches. Not a stabbing horrible pain, or an irritating pins and needles pain, but a constant full body ache. Like he went to the gym and did a five hour work out making sure to target every muscle. His whole body is just _tired._

The plus side is he doesn’t feel like throwing up. 

Groaning to himself Lance pushes up in his bed, squinting at the fading evening light peeking through his curtains. His mind drags slowly through the days events. He remembers going to work, then Keith, then being a home. He remembers lots of throwing up, more Keith. A small smile tugs on his dry lips, his eyes straying to his bedside drawers where he finds a note, medicine, a large bottle of water, and a Tupperware bowl of soup. 

Stomach rumbling he reaches for the bowl, cracking it open to view the contents. The savory scent of chicken and vegetables reaches his nose and his stomach rolls. Quickly shoving the bowl back on the table he hunches over the bed narrowly making the large bucket Keith placed there as he heaves.

Taking back that excited thought of not throwing up he gags again, watching a few droplets of foamy bile plop into the bottom of the bucket. Coughing around his empty gagging he curses the gods who thought sickness was a good idea. 

Finally he sits back, wiping the tears that escaped from his eyes. “Stupid sickness. Stupid Keith being considerate and taking care of me. Stupid good smelling soup.”

Opting out of eating for now he seals the bowl back up and reaches for the bottle of water, noticing a sleeve of saltine crackers he snatches that up too, smiling softly when he sees its already been opened but none of them seem to be missing. He thanks the gods, not the sickness ones, those can rot in a ditch, but the good ones who help him eat the saltines without instantly vomiting all over himself. 

After about 10 crackers and nearly the entire bottle of water his bladder wins the fight over sickness, dragging him from the warmth of his blankets and into the hall. He makes it to the bathroom on unsteady feet and considers pissing in the bathtub, less risk of missing there, but ends up doing it properly in the end. 

Shoving himself back in his pants he turns to leave the bathroom, regretting his quick movement immediately when the world spins around him. His vision darkens almost instantly, hands scrambling to find something to hold himself up, to lean against. 

_Please no, I just have to make it back to bed._

He clambers down the hall, bumping hard into walls as he walks nearly blind to his door. Reaching for the knob once he feels the doorframe under his hands he falters when he hits air, stumbling to the ground in a painful thud. 

He thinks about pushing up, about crawling towards his bed and clambering up onto it. He thinks about his warm covers and soft pillows.

He doesn’t move. Body too exhausted to even bother trying. With a defeated groan he turns to his back, closing his eyes. 

_Just a nap to regain my strength, then I’ll go back to bed._

He drifts off within minutes, body too exhausted to care about where it lay.

* * *

Parenting is exhausting. Teaching a bunch of children art for an hour? Yeah he can do that, they stay sitting down for the most part and are excited to be able to do their art for their families or friends, plus its only an hour so they don’t get bored. Parenting an actual child is not easy and Keith can say without a shadow of a doubt that he has no idea how Lance makes it look so easy. 

After the incident with the shelf Keith was hyperaware of every move Estela made, which made his job take a lot longer than it should. He was thankful that it was an easy day today with lots of gaps between customers. Once everything had settled down he asked her why she had even wanted to climb the shelf, she had simply explained back that she wanted to be the princess in the tower who the ham-some prince rescued. 

It was adorable, he felt terrible telling her she couldn’t do things like that. So, he made a deal with her, and while they waited for Allura to arrive with food and clothes she stood proudly on top of his desk singing loudly and very much out of key asking when her life will begin. 

Keith regrets not packing Tylenol.

For the most part his customers have been very sweet, one of them even excitedly sang along with her while he etched the grinning face of Stitch into her upper arm. It was adorable and he kinda wished he knew the song to join in. 

His current customer wasn’t one of those people. The man was there for a fill in, the main line work having been completed in two prior sessions. As soon as he saw Estela he was already sneering. He didn’t stop glaring at her the whole time while she sat on the desk, kicking her feet and folding and cutting paper with a pair of child safety scissors Antok had given him as a joke after a customer had asked if he was one of the other artist's children.

Every time she opened her mouth, or hit the table with her heel as she kicked the man would flinch. Keith chose to ignore it, since he wasn’t doing anything else and it didn’t seem to bother Estela to be glared at, he let it go. 

Unfortunately the man apparently had less patience than Keith was hoping for because as soon as Estela planted her tiny feet on the desk and stood up, throwing paper snowflakes in the air while shout-singing a song about letting it go the man snapped. He jerks his arm from Keith's grip, turning his whole body to face her and starts yelling “WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS? I CAME HERE FOR A TATTOO NOT A FUCKING DAYCARE! GET THIS ANNOYING LITTLE SHI-“

The man's words stop mid sentence, Keith's hand firmly clamped over his mouth as he glares daggers at him. “You might want to check your language, sir. Those kinds of words are not appropriate in front of a princess as important as my Little Bat.”

Sniffles start behind him and Keith pulls away, easily rolling his chair over to hold his hands open. He only grunts in minor discomfort as Estela lunges from the table, crashing into his chest and burying her head in his neck. He swivels his chair back around, letting her cling to his chest like a koala as he levels his glare back on the man. 

“I’m going to give you three options, sir. Your first option is to apologize to her and shut your mouth and we can get back to work as peaceful human beings. The second is if you don’t apologize but also refuse to leave I will hook my phone up to the speakers in this room and blare all the Disney music my little girl wants and sing along loudly to it while I may or may not press down too hard while I continue your coloring. The third is you leave and never come back because no amount of money is worth letting anyone treat the most important girl in my life the way you have been. Especially when she has done nothing to you.” His hand runs soothingly along her back, barely able to hold back his grin as her sniffles turn into giggles against his neck.

Wide eyed the man looks at Keith, fist clenching and unclenching. He opens his mouth to speak just as the door crashes open, the scent of greasy cheeseburgers filling the air as Allura barges into the room like she owns the place, arms overloaded with McDonald’s bags and bags from various stores at the local mall. She pauses in the doorway, one perfect brow raising as she looks at the scene before her.

“Is something going on?” Shifting her gaze to the man her face quickly morphs to one of judgement. 

He shakes his head, nervously gripping the arm of the chair. “No, not at all ma'am. I was just about to apologize to your daughter for being inconsiderate and losing my temper.”

Keith snorts and Allura laughs, walking in to drop the food on the table before turning back to him. “I wish I was lucky enough to have a girl like Estela. She is the best child in my classes and I hope my future children are at least half as good as she is. Isn’t that right princess?”

Estela grins, pushing back from Keith's chest and holding her arms up to Allura in excitement. “Miss 'Lura! Did you bring me new clothes?”

“I did! With new shoes and jewelry to match! I also brought you a happy meal!” Allura scoops the girl up, spinning around with her as she giggles before heading to the door. “Lets go eat in the lobby then we can try on your new clothes.” 

Without another word Estela was ushered out with Allura and her arms full of all but one bag of food, leaving Keith alone with his angry customer. He turns slow eyes to him and the man at least has the decency to look ashamed. Shaking his head Keith gets back to work, finishing the coloring in absolute silence within a half hour. 

After the bill is paid and the tattoo is wrapped Keith grabs his bag of cold fries and nuggets and munches on them while he moves down the hall, smiling softly as he watches Estela sitting at the main counter play tapping the keys and taking Allura's appointments. She’s changed now, wearing a large poofy purple dress made with way too much tulle, sparkling gold slippers and a matching crown, with what looks like 20 multicolored plastic bracelets clacking on her wrists. Her hair is pulled back, braided around her head like a crown of its own and her grin infectious as she plays. 

“I changed my mind.” Keith turns curious eyes up to Kolivan, standing beside him. The older man makes a grossed face as Keith crunches down on a cold nugget and signals for him to continue. “I am glad you brought the child here, it has shown me a few things I never expected to see. Mostly that you need to hurry up and make your move on her father before someone else swoops in and takes him.”

Keith smiles, swallowing down his cold meal. “Yeah, I’m working on that.”

* * *

Unlocking the door was proven to be difficult, but not impossible with his hands full of dead weight and sleeping princess in a way too poofy dress. Pushing the door open he shuffles inside, nearly tripping over the cats as they hungrily greet him at the door. Cursing the little demons he steps around them and to the couch, gently placing Estela down. Smiling down at her sleeping form sprawled starfish style across the cushions he slips off her shoes, crown, and jewelry before covering her with a throw blanket and feeding the cats.

Satisfied with the food the cats settle to eat leaving him to do what he has to do. After slipping his own shoes off he pads down the hall, frowning at Lance’s open door. “Hey Lance, you awake in here?”

A groggy groan fills the room followed by Lance's raspy voice. “Yea, don’t step on me.”

“Why would I-…. Lance… why are you on the floor?” Keith steps into the room, looking down at the man in question, starfished out across the hardwood in a position near identical to his daughter's. 

“The floor and I have become great friends, we have a date next Tuesday to further our relationship.” Lance's head rolls to the side, sending Keith a lopsided smile.

Keith snorts, crouching down next to the adorable man. “Is that right?” 

Cool arms wrap around Lance, easily scooping him up and carrying him back to his bed. “Yeah, she was here for me when no one else was.”

“That’s a real shame.” Placing Lance down on the bed he quickly tucks him in before turning a frown to the table full of almost everything he'd left there. “She did a terrible job taking care of you. But if you want her to take you on a date instead of me I guess I understand.”

“Well she can only do so much, she is an inanimate object after- wait what?” Lance's head whips around so fast Keith can hear it cracking as he turns wide eyes up at him. 

“I said I wanted to take you on a date next Tuesday.” Grabbing the medicine he stuffs it in Lance’s hand before passing off the warm water. “But if you'd rather be in a relationship with the floor-“

“No! I mean yes! I mean… god I’m too sick to figure out what I mean Keith. You’re preying on the sick and defenseless.” 

“Mmm well it’s a good thing soup helps the sick and defenseless, do you want me to heat it up for you?” Keith scoops up the bowl, looking at the look of disgust sent his way. “You are going to eat the soup Lance.”

“Fine… but, you know the ultimate cure for everything… right?” Keith raises a brow and Lance continues. “A kiss, it’s a proven fact.”

Smiling down at Lance Keith sets the soup aside again, leaning down until he’s mere inches from the bedridden man. “Are you asking me to kiss you, Lance?”

“That depends… are you going to?” Blue eyes flick back and forth, searching the darker ones in front of him. 

Keith doesn’t answer, just presses forward, slotting their lips together. The reaction is instant, long fingers digging into dark locks, pulling him closer as Lance opens his mouth, tongue teasing in an invite for more. Keith leans in closer, hand cupping Lance's neck as he parts his lips in reply, ignoring the foul taste of sickness on Lance's tongue in favor of chasing what he’s been craving.

“ _What the fuck is this?!_ ” The high pitched screech causes both men to scramble apart, wide eyes turning to the door where Estela stands, blanket pooled around her feet where she must have dropped it, jaw dropped.

Lance looks from his daughter to Keith, the words registering in his head. “Keith did she just-“

Flinching Keith draws back, looking over guiltily at him, holding up his hands in defense. “I can explain.”

**Author's Note:**

> Estela no! That's a bad word! 
> 
> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed!  
> You can find me on tumblr at SuccubustyKisses and twitter at SuccubustyKiss.
> 
> And as always, your comments and kudos fuel me.


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